Friday, September 7

Sonics Snap Up New Color Man

Well, I'm back from 10 days of vacationing in Southern British Columbia, soaking in every last bit of sun before the six months of rain begin in October. While I was away, it appears not much of anything took place, with the exception of Sonic management continuing to pratfall their way in the poorest example of public relations since Ford sold the Edsel.

One wonderful piece of news emerged, though; the Sonics hired Steve Jones and Marques Johnson to take over the color commentary role. Some folks may be less than thrilled about Jones' hiring, but I am not one of them. Having lived in Oregon for 5 years in the mid-90s, I can tell you that Snapper is by far the best color man I've ever listened to. He knows the game, he's got a great voice, he has just a bit of humor (granted, not as much as Marques), and he's enjoyable to listen to in a non-intrusive sort of way.

In other words, he's basically the oppposite of Bill Walton. Better yet, we get MJ, too, which means we've gone from Craig Ehlo and Lenny Wilkens to Jones and Johnson, which is kind of like trading in a Chevy Corsica with a broken car seat for a Jaguar XJ6 with Salma Hayek in the trunk.

In fairness to Snapper, can you blame him for ragging on the Sonics for the last couple of years? It's not like they were setting the world on fire by averaging 31 wins a year ... Give him a chance; I can understand why a Sonic fan would hate anything Blazer-related. In fact, I'd worry about a true supporter who didn't. That said, from everything I've heard from him, Steve Jones sounds like a classy guy who's a good commentator.

And, yes, the fact he went to the University of Oregon is totally coloring my vision.

I think "Snapper" is a good move. He and KC should work great together. I think it is going to be a lot of fun to listen to the broadcasts this season. I think KC and Snapper have done a couple of TNT games together in the past!! Should be a good team!

So, in your example, is Marques Johnson equivalent to Salma Hayek with Snapper as the Jag, or the other way around? And how does Matt Pinto enter all of this; would he be the leather interior? And what about Kevin Calabro? I demand proper metaphors for all Sonic-related broadcasters, ASAP!